The Fallen Angel
by icysherbert
Summary: Joshua is ridiculed by his whole town for believing that 'monsters' were real. Little did he know that they were in fact, quite real. Story transgresses from a society that doesn't value individual thinking. Joshua gets into a deep taste of hell. But meets a barista that changes his life. Era is 1985. Pre-Composer form of Joshua. Basically, this is his human life story. Enjoy.
1. Chapter 1

_The world had once gone astray into the vast shallow darkness of the earth._

_Chaos and war broke out; blood spilled endlessly of the rotten ground_

_When humanity had itself had failed to make peace,_

_Composers were destined by God to maintain social order._

_Angels of the highest hierarchy were sent to assist the Composer. _

_To protect. To serve. To obey_

Note: Joshua is fifteen years of age. This is his Pre-composer form. Basically his human life story. Be warned: there is violence, body mutilation, and possibly profanity. Btw, Joshua gets beat up non-stop. Back then in the old days, Japan had a pretty screwed up bullying routine. If your the oddball out of the bunch. There were gangs or yankees who basically beat living crap out people who didn't conform to one specific way of thinking. Most of the time, these fights go un-reported. A warning because I don't want to disturb anyone. This is my first fanfic. I'm a noob, please be gentle ;_;

—

ERA: 1985

Joshua woke up from another nightmare. Sweat dripped from his forehead and cheeks, he sighed to calm himself and moved into the bathroom to wash the sweat from his face. Once cleaned, the blonde returned to his bed and picked up a rubix cube. From the corner, the room was dark but not completely devoid of light. The moon's light peaked against the translucent window of the apartment, leaving a small slant of faint light shining between the folding of the curtains.

The image of the man's face showed vividly in the back of his mind and the creature that took the man's life away sent down a small shiver down Joshua's spine. _Click Clack_. The sound of the rubix cube clacking against each other kept him calm. After he completed the cube, he took out blue skull pin out from his pocket and stared at it intently between his slender fingers. Clutching it for a few seconds, he shoved it back into his pocket before falling asleep once more.

—

Morning was chaotic as his parents quickly prepared to go to work. Joshua ate breakfast by himself as he observed his parents who were about to leave the apartment.

"Joshua, honey, don't cause any trouble in school alright?" said his mother.

Joshua nodded.

It had been five months since the predicament started with the case of creatures lurking downtown in Shibuya. He had seen it all. From countless people victimized but somehow their bodies disappearing at the scene. As if they were erased from the face of the earth. Joshua thought his own action has done more harm than good. He couldn't be afraid but be guilty of it. Not even his parents were on his side.

—-

The bells rang loudly as student ran to the entrance. Joshua walked slowly never feeling any anticipation or consequences of being late.

"Hey Joshua, you're going to be late if you walk like a snail!" a voice was heard from a distance.

"Well, good morning to you too Lena." Joshua greeted.

"You know, being a top student doesn't mean you're an exception for being late." Lena pouted and tried to match the snail speed of Joshua's'.

"I'm aware. But I believe sensei would understand." Joshua replied.

"Hmph, at this rate, I guess we can both be late together."

"If you run fast enough. Maybe you can make it."

"Maybe! But I want to see if sensei really has his favorites." She giggled.

"Say Joshua, you don't look too well."

"Hmm? Why do you say that?

"I don't know…you look rather pale? I mean, you are pale but today you look like a ghost."

Joshua laughed at her comment.

"Hey! I'm just worried about you."

"Lena-san, if I said ghosts exist. Would you believe me?"

There was slight pause between the two. Lena's golden eye met with the blonde's violet eye with seriousness and intensity.

"…Of course I would, Joshua. You're smart."

Joshua, again, laughed at her naïve nature but not in a mocking tone but rather in a gentle playful voice.

"I wouldn't say that intelligence has anything to do whether or not something is real."

"I guess so. But you're not the type to make up an unlikely story." She added.

"Oh? Is that so? You know me too well I suppose."

There comes a time when one meets a "friend." Or rather, a "friend" greeted him. Her name was Lena Hiromi. She was hyper and rambunctious type. Lena Hiromi was Joshua's first ever friend in middle school. Even after certain chain of events, Joshua was surprised that anybody would want to converse with him.

Class was boring as usual and Joshua took the liberty of taking out the skull pin from his pocket. He observed it intently with his hands. Waiting for something to happen. Anything. Ultimately, it was just a regular pin no matter how a person looked at it from a different perpective. While the teacher was writing on the board, a boy turned around and snatched the pin out of Joshua's hand.

"!…"

In response, the boy smiled teasingly at Joshua as if he was expecting the other to beg him to give it back. Joshua decided it was wiser to stay silent and not to stir a commotion in the classroom. But really, he wanted it back. A note passed around the classroom until it finally reached Joshua's desk. He opened the note.

_Want it back? _

_Come outside after school near the playground in CAT street at 5:00 p.m."_

Joshua crumpled the note and put it inside his pocket. _This again_, he thought himself.

_—_

The day finally ended and Joshua casually packed his belongings before heading out to his destination. As he walked toward the front entrance, Lena happily asked Joshua if they should walk together.

"Oh dear, I'm afraid not today." he said.

"Why not?" Lena asked.

"I have to go somewhere."

"Where?"

"A place."

"Sheesh, can you be more vague? What place?"

"You don't necessarily have to know." He smiled.

"Why not?"

"It's frankly not of important to you." he said in a gentle voice.

"So it is important. Is it a date with a girl?" she asked.

_It is important._ As usual, Lena caught on quickly. Joshua smirked at her question but the smirk quickly turned into a frown.

"Perhaps. Now, if I stay here any longer. I might be late."

"Tell me tomorrow maybe I can help you out if today's date goes well." She giggled. She waved as she walked to the opposite direction. He waited until she was out of his sight

_—-_

Joshua made the first mistake of showing up at the empty playground by himself. There was not a living being in sight or a block away. A bunch of boys —about four of them— decided to group together to form some kind of 'purity' gang. There moto was mostly 'anything that fowl the sanity of a mind is considered to be a sin and thus deserved to be punished.' The leader, Taiki, was the same guy who snatched the pin.

"Oh look everybody, it's the boy who cried wolf." Taiki smirked and gazed at the other.

The boys gave a smug laughter with each other. It was irritating. Yet, Joshua kept his calm composure.

Taiki took the pin and tied it with a string so that he can teasingly make the pin sway back and forth in front of the blonde's face but not too close for him to claim it.

"Say, this Pin. It's has some value to you right? Why? It doesn't have anything to do the 'incident' a while back— is it?"

Joshua stayed silent.

"You still believe monsters exist?

"I do."

"HA – you're a psycho. You know that? I'm surprised they haven't apprehended you."

A pause.

"Do you still believe that guy was murdered?"

"Yes."

"You're lying."

"Unfortunately, I'm not." Joshua gazed at him with his violet eyes.

"Look, coming from you. A bright guy who's the top of the class. It's plausible. I would believe you. But things just don't match up here. There's no evidence. Nothing. You know what? You're still denying it. And you're getting too much publicity with your story and I'm starting to believe you're doing this for attention."

Joshua remarked sarcastically, "Oh? Why would I fabricate a story and purposely set myself into humiliation? It would be foolish of me. If I truly sought attention, I would have created a more _enticing_ story, don't you think?"

"Stop being a wise-ass. We all know you don't associate yourself with people. You're basically an outcast here. That girl that follows you around, she feels_ sorry_ for you because everyone in school thinks you're mentally not right in the head. "

Joshua rolled his eyes. His patience was drying thin.

"Yes, I'm obviously going _mad_. Now, care to hand me over my possession?"

"Not so fast. You have to catch it first." Taiki grinned menacingly.

Joshua felt something covering his eyes. A blindfold? His vision was obscured by darkness. Everything around him felt more unfamiliar and his alertness grew by the second as the boys surrounded him to prevent escape.

"I read in the newspaper that you claimed you saw blue flames in the scene. Are you implying this pin has magical powers?"

Joshua said nothing due to the disadvantage he was in.

"We can stay here all day until you answer."

"…"

"…"

"If I said answered yes or no, would you take off this blindfold?"

"Sure, buddy. Take my word for it."

"Yes."

"Ah, but you still want this Pin don't you?"

Joshua cringed a bit. The current state he was in, Joshua couldn't think properly under the pressure. He wanted the Pin because was his only form of evidence. Taiki teasingly made the Pin touch at the tip of Joshua's nose. Then he gently laid the Pin in Joshua's palm.

"We'll let you go if you can make this Pin eject any powers. I promise. Since, we want from you is the truth, that's all."

Joshua knew that the Pin didn't work anymore. It did work once before when he first obtained the pin. But he was never able to bring the flames out of the Pin again. As though it was playing a cruel joke on him, Joshua started to self-hate himself.

It was a long ten minutes and the boys grew impatient.

"You can't, right? Haha, you're pathetic. You piece of scum." He re-claimed the Pin.

"Tie him up."

At this point, Joshua had no other choice: he needed to flee. Either or he wasn't going to get out of this without his hands dirty. Backing away, he bumped into one of the gang member. As one of the boys attempted to tie his hands together, Joshua quickly took a fist sized rock from the cemented ground and threw it unconsciously without any purpose of aim.

"SHIT—_OW_!" Taiki yelled.

"Boss, you okay?" a boy asked out of concern.

Blood dripped down in the older boy's forehead. Of course, Joshua couldn't see it through his blindfold. With a small diversion, Joshua attempted to run as fast as he could.

"GET HIM!" Taiki shouted.

The blonde really wished he was the athletic type or somewhat physically physique to run with gusto. It wasn't long before the gang pinned him down—thankfully in a grassy area. He struggled to pry himself free but it was futile. There was too many of them. Thick uncomfortable roped were tightly bounded to his wrists and he was dragged out of the grassy area to the hard cemented ground.

Joshua smirked to himself. It was amusing that his honesty had led him to this unfortunate turn of events. As if, God is punishing him for his wretched sins.

"Take that dirty smile of your face, you sadist." Taiki hissed as began to prepare the bat.

Before Joshua could say anything, he was muffled by a cloth which surrounded his mouth. So it began. He was kicked, shoved, punched ruthlessly. But none of the pain inflicted caused him to cry or beg for mercy. Instead, he bit his lips to keep his voice in. In truth, Joshua didn't want to be found or saved. He didn't want to make himself the center of attention once more. Time would soon pass and all of this would be over. That is, if he came out of this alive.

Joshua felt an abrupt impact on the side of his arm and stomach. Taiki had struck him on both parts of his body with a bat—not hard enough to kill him but enough to break a few of his ribs. He set himself in a fetal position to embrace himself from another impact. However, it was already over and the boys began to gather their belongings and head home.

Taiki was pleased that he was able to get payback. He took his right foot and slowly pushed Joshua to the other side of his body facing toward him. Joshua cried in the back of his throat. The pain was excruciatingly unbearable. And the slow motion of the force made it ten times more painful. The cloth which surrounded his mouth made him impossible for him to breathe normally.

"Hope you learned your lesson you scum." He smiled triumphantly. He spat on Joshua's face before finally leaving with the boys altogether.

There was a long silence.

_Drip. Drip. _The blood trickled from his forehead all the way to his neck down his collarbone. Still blindfolded, Joshua was surprised he was still conscious.

But he couldn't move an inch.

This wasn't his first time in this sort of predicament. Time and again, he was called up from varies groups and he would let them have their way; it was futile to receive some form of help. Since, it only adds oil to the fire in his situation. He was beaten numerous times but this one was the worst one of them all.

This is bad. He couldn't move. Joshua tried to manage a scuffle for 'help' but his voice was nowhere near any decent wording for anybody to hear him out. He wasn't even aware of his exact location in the playground. Yet, He knew he was dragged out in the most desolated side of the area where nobody will pass until tomorrow morning. So he laid there feeling numb. Blood soaked hair drenched his face and seeped through his shirt. . He cursed himself under his breathe for being so incredibly weak. Joshua took every ounce of energy to remain conscious.

For God knows what will happen if he slept for an eternal slumber.

_—_

The sun was setting and the sky grew in the swirling shades of pink and dark blue. Sanae Hanekoma puffed a smoke from his lips while he carried his groceries. It was another casual day for the barista. To open his shop, brew some coffee, buy some groceries, and then close his shop for the day.

Lately, business was slow and the barista had nothing much to do in his shop besides watching T.V and drinking coffee.

Today, he decided to change his routine and decided to take a short-cut through the playground to buy some new coffee beans from another chain store. He planned to experiment a new coffee series which he someday hoped to be a hit.

As he whistled to himself as he walked through the playground, he turned to his side to see a figure lying down. _Oh. A dead deer. How lovely. _The barista thought to himself. Only when he approached it closer he discovered that it was an injured child.

"What the—"

_Thump._

The grocery slipped out of his fingers and slammed unto the pavement of the concrete floor.

"Hey kid, wake up!" he leaned down but didn't touch the boy. For all he know that he wasn't aware of the extent of the injury and the contact of his hand could make it much worse. Sanae untied Joshua's hands and the cloth around his mouth.

But Joshua wasn't breathing.

From a short distance, it appeared as though he was in a deep transient sleep. Sanae took the first move of grabbing a water bottle from his grocery bag and pouring the cool water down Joshua's face.

As a reflex from the cold touch, Joshua flicked his eyes open and coughed up enough blood for him to fall back into his original position. He was exhausted. Moving is mouth even drained him

Sanae was repulsed by the sight.

"Who did this to you, kid?"

Knowing that he wasn't getting a reply any time soon, Sanae took an orange phone from Joshua's pocket.

"I'm going to call the ambulance." He started to dial the first two digits.

Joshua slowly regained enough consciousness to know what was going on. He immediately shook his head and muffled a sound to make a form of indication.

_Don't._

Sanae sighed and ruffled his hair. He took out the cigarette from his mouth and crushed it with his foot. "Look – if you don't get any proper treatment, your injuries can turn out fatal." The barista clicked the final number before pressing send. Suddenly, through the corner of his eye he saw a blue pin not too far away from the boy. Clicking the phone shut, Sanae picked up the Pin from the ground.

"This pin…it has the imprint of a Reaper's skull. Are you a player, kid?"

Joshua had no idea what the barista was talking about. All he wanted was to sleep. Fatigue quickly spread through him both physically and mentally. But fainting now would be a bad decision. The blonde knew nothing of the older man and his real ulterior motives.

"Is this Pin yours? Nod once for yes. Twice for no. If you don't work with me here, I'll just call the ambulance."

Joshua had no choice but listen to the stranger. He nodded once.

"Do you know anything about the Reaper's Game?"

Joshua nodded his head twice.

Sanae stared intently at the Pin from the back and front. He converted his eyes to the boy. Something was clearly not right. The imprint of the Reaper's skull only appeared when a Player had used the Pin. At the same time, Sanae knew that Joshua wasn't part of the UG world. The boy was still alive.

Sanae immediately knew that the Joshua was not labeled as 'normal.'

"What do you plan to do if I leaved you here, kid? Do you intend to die?

Joshua wasn't thinking of death at the moment but it seemed like an option. His mind was numb from the impact. It was all too soon for him to gravel on the idea of being saved. Even if he disappeared from the face of the earth, he would know that it wouldn't make much of a difference and the world would continue to go by without his existence. _Heh._ In the end, _the outcome will be the same_ he thought. A twisted smile playfully grew on his face. Sanae was perturbed by his facial expression.

"You're a weird one."

Sanae sighed and moved Joshua's bangs away from his face. The boy twitched from the unexpected touch.

"Well, I'll give you some slack. Just this time. You owe me."

The barista lifted the blonde from the ground to his arms. Joshua tensed at the sudden force pulled him up. He stared at the older man's face which grew solemnly dark. But strangely enough, he felt safe. Sanae's hand on the small of Joshua back to keep balance, providing the added benefit of keeping him from wobbling in his arms

"Who are you?" Joshua managed to speak.

"Hmm? You can talk? Why didn't you say so sooner!" the barista gave a boisterous laugh.

Joshua winced in pain at the vibrancy of the laughter.

"The name's Sanae Hanekoma. But you can call me Mr. H. I already know your name, kiddo. Yoshiya Kiryu is it?"

"How did you—"

"You're nametag." He pointed at his shirt.

Joshua completely forgotten that he was wearing his nametag on his school uniform. However, nobody in his school identified him through his real name 'Yoshiya.'

"It's Joshua."

"Well, nice to meet you Joshua."

Joshua couldn't feel the same mutuality with the other man. Whether it was out of unfamiliarity or just plain skepticism, the blonde was just oh so tired and wanted a nap. The sun descended in the shrouded blue sky, and the street light began to light up across the street. Joshua could have sworn he saw a pair of wings before he finally fell into a transient sleep.

(To be continued….)


	2. Chapter 2

This is the second chapter. I don't own the word ends with you or the characters. Oh btw, Lena's parent's are very Asian, indeed. I realized the cell phone in the mid 80's were a lot different from the phone's we have today. This is a lot different from what I usually write so I try to make the relationship between Joshua and Hanekoma as realistic as possible but at the same time I want to retain their true character. Enjoy.

This is my first fanfic series, I'm a noob. Please be gentle.

* * *

ERA: 1985

_A thunderous boom echoed between the wet streets of Cadoi City._

_Ravaged beasts roamed the city thirsting for blood._

_In the eyes of the innocent, terrors stroke those who were victimized._

_In the midst of turmoil scene, bodies lay lifeless on the ground._

_Yet one soul hid behind the walls witnessing the chaos._

* * *

The light dimmed brightly as the Hiromi family ate dinner. Lena scraped her last piece of rice before heading out to clean the dishes. Suddenly, she felt a sharp touch on her shoulders once she stood up from her chair.

"Lena."

"Yeah Mom?" Lena asked still holding the plate on her hands.

"I want you to stop talking with Joshua." Lena's mom looked with concern.

Lena tensed, "Why would you say that, mom…?" she trailed off.

"I personally feel he's not a good influence to you."

Lena sat down back in her chair eyeing at her mother.

"Oh mom, if you go pass his sardonic humour, he's not a bad guy."

"That's not my point, honey. You know exactly why I don't want you to not associate yourself with him."

Lena made a short eye contact before converting her eyes in the opposite direction.

"Mom, I can't do that to Joshua. We've been friends since the beginning of middle school."

Lena's father finished drinking his coffee before laying it down on the table.

"Your mother is right. It's better for you to stay away from that boy. He brings a lot of trouble even if he didn't intend it that way."

"Dad, things are getting better for him. He's making friends and moving on."

"That's your assumption, Lena. Nobody knows exactly what is going on in his life. His parents are always out to work. He lacks discipline."

"But—"

"Stay away from him."

Lena could help but feel angry at her parents. She discarded the plates in the sink and trudged to her room. Locking the door behind her, she slumped unto the hard floor. Silence stroke her hard and she grew irritated by the ticking of the clock. _Click._ She turned on the T.V to alleviate her mind.

A newscaster was shown on the blue bright screen. Her expression was uneasy as she wobbled the microphone in her hand. A gush of wind passed by the newscaster and a crowd of people surrounded the area murmuring to each other.

"We have no definite information of a murder case but a man has disappeared from the scene. Is this truly the work of monsters…..?" she said with a lack of conviction.

The camera suddenly directed itself to the area but it was heavily guarded with police cars. Yellow streak signs of 'no trespassing' was plastered everywhere from the entrance of the main mall to the alleys.

Lena dropped her remote control in horror.

_Oh no. Please no_. _Not again._ She thought to herself. Lena made quick move of reaching toward her bag to take out her cell phone. She immediately tried to dial Joshua's number – until. _Beep. Beep. Beep. _The number was directed from the Kiryu's residence. As if time has frozen, Lena stared at her phone with uncertainty but eventually answered the phone.

"…Hello…?"

"Lena? This is Joshua's mother. Is he with you?"

"No….."

"Dear god!"

A pause.

"Do you know where he is?"

Lena felt a pang of guilt, "No….." she replied.

"He hasn't come home since this morning. Have you seen him after school?"

"Yes, he was heading toward CAT street."

"I want you to stay put and not let your parents know about this, okay? It's too late in the hour and we do not want to cause more trouble. We are going to search for him instead. Try to get some sleep tonight." She sighed in grief.

"But—"

"Please do this for Joshua." _Click. _The call abruptly ended.

A sense of uneasiness and worrisome grew inside Lena. She wanted to help, but at the same time silence was another way to help her dear friend. Surely, she knew she wouldn't get any sleep tonight.

The phone felt smooth between the tips of her fingers. The next thing she did was to call Joshua.

_I'm sorry the dial you tried to reach is unavailable right now. Please try calling again later._

She dialed again and again and again. To no avail, she wasn't able to reach him. Never had she once felt that she knew exactly what was going on in his life and mind. A sudden feeling of helplessness was growing inside her. How much did she truly know about Joshua? Why hasn't Joshua told her about things that were troubling him?

Lena sighed and moved into her bed. For a few minutes she tried to sleep but failed to inhibit the loud thoughts in her mind. Did Joshua ever trust her? Perhaps, trust was another issue altogether. The blonde never formed any solid trust with anyone in his life.

She twisted and turned in her bed before falling asleep. Hoping that the new day would quickly arrive.

* * *

"_Say he's cute." A giggle can be heard._

"_Shhh, you might wake him up." Another voice can heard._

"_His hair is really soft, did you touch it?"_

"_It is! But I wonder why he's sleeping here of all places. This isn't the place to be sleeping you know. Customer's eat here."_

"_But Mr. H barely gets customers. I bet we're his only customers."_

"_Shhh, don't say that out loud!"_

"_I wonder who this new guy is."_

"_Maybe he's a bum." _

"_Eh? He sure doesn't look like one."_

"_Maybe a traveling bum, they look like normal folks but are still homeless."_

"_He looks too young to be homeless. Maybe he's lost."_

Joshua woke up with two pairs of curious eyes staring on top of him. They were about his age and obviously very curious about him.

"Oh? You woke him up, Haru."

Joshua slowly rose up from the futon. Where was he? The sun's bright light ascended from the main entrance of the door to the counter of the room. Chairs were stacked on top of the tables perfectly in rows. The wooden floors gave the vibrant touch of a relaxing atmosphere. There was a menu sign on top of the window front and the walls of the room.

"Wow! You have very pretty violet eyes, sir." Haru smiled.

"Are you flirting with him?" the boy frowned.

"No, of course not Aito."

"Well…every time you see a pretty boy. You happen to go crazy over them."

"Hey….not always. You know I like Aito's style the most."

"You do? Then why don't you compliment me like you do with the other boys."

"It's not like that Aito." Haru's face grew red and flailed her hands.

"I really do like you….." She remarked.

"Pardon me. I don't want to interrupt this _touching_ moment. But may you inform me where I am?" Joshua asked.

The pair stared at the boy. "You're at-"

"Well, look who finally woke up! Rise and shine curly-locks." The barista entered the store with a sack of beans in his hands and dropped it in a counter.

_Curly-locks? Really? _Of all the nicknames he had heard, the older man made up unusual nicknames from his head.

"So, how's your wounds curly?" Hanekoma smiled from the counter.

Joshua realized that he wasn't in his uniform anymore but rather in an over-sized light blue shirt. He converted his eyes to his injuries but they were completely healed from the spot. Only wounds that were left were minor scratches and bruises but his internal wounds had been fully healed.

The blonde was utterly confused and in awe because his body felt tremendously better and lighter than before. In fact, he never felt this great in a while.

"You're probably hungry about now, I'll whip you something tasty. My treat." The barista said.

"Mr. H, why does he get free food?" Aito asked.

"Yeah! We come here often and we never get a discount either." Haru pouted.

The barista laughed, "Hmm, he's a special guest here. Anyway, don't you have something important to do at this hour?" he rested his hand around his neck.

The pair stared at the barista.

"No…why?" Aito asked.

Haru realized that there was, in fact, something important to do. She leaned into Aito's ear and whispered.

"_The mission! The Game master is going announce today's mission soon. We should hurry to Scramble Crossing."_

"Right." Aito said with a straight face and began to carry his belongings.

"We'll see you around, Mr. H." Haru smiled and waved.

Hanekoma waved back as the pair exited out of the store and vanished immediately from sight.

Joshua blinked twice and rubbed his eyes. Was the sun's light toying with his vision? It was all too soon for him to start hallucinating again so he quickly discarded the image out of his mind.

"Looks like the shirt doesn't fit you but it strangely suites you. The funnier part is that it's a _girl's_ shirt." Hanekoma chuckled as he began pouring beans into a cup.

The blonde was skeptical of dealing with the person in front of him. Whether he was a pervert or a sadist, Joshua was unsure. But he knew that someone had changed him into these clothes and cleaned out the wounds from getting infected.

Joshua looked from side to side from his futon. _Not here._ He looked under the blankets and inside pockets of his brand new shirt and pants.

"If you're looking for the Pin. It's on the table in front of you." Hanekoma poured in a cup of water into the coffee machine.

The blonde stood up from his spot and approached the small table. His uniform lay neatly folded on the coffee table which the blue skull pin was exposed on top of his folded shirt and Joshua quickly snatched it with his hands. He observed it intently making sure it wasn't damaged or dented in any way from the predicament before.

"For a whimsy Pin, you're pretty fixated on that thing." The barista began to take a frying pan and toast from the counter.

"Are you sure you're not a Player?" he asked from afar.

Joshua was puzzled but finally spoke.

"I wouldn't necessarily do something indecent as being a 'player.'"

The barista froze and stared at the boy before giving a boisterous laugh.

Joshua was slightly irritated at the barista's laughter. Why was he laughing? Joshua couldn't make any sense of it all. But one thing is definite, the man saved his life.

"Why did you help me?" he finally asked.

"Hmm? Why, if I left you there. I would be equally in trouble for leaving a minor dead in the street." he began to fry the toast in the pan.

Joshua thought it was a reasonable answer but some things still didn't make sense. First, they were complete strangers. Second, a person wouldn't even want to be involved in another's persons business unless there was a fundamental reason behind it.

He sat down on the empty chair next to him and crossed his arms on the surface of the table. He collectively began to recall his memories and try to formulate a question that would suffice his conjecture.

Before Joshua was able to ask his next question, Hanekoma made his way to the table and laid down a plate and a cup of coffee.

The aroma gave a hint of sweetness.

"Here's a sugar-crusted French toast and a kat café latte. On the house."

"No thank you."

"Aw why do you have to be like that curly?

"It's Joshua." He gave an un-amused stare.

"Right right. Joshua." Hanekoma rested his hand on his neck and laughed to himself.

"Well, I can hear your stomach. You're starving aren't you? Dig in while you can." The barista pushed the plate closer.

Joshua stared at the plate below. Everything looked and smelled sweet. _Too sweet. _He never ate sugary food in the morning but rather a plain bowl of rice and left over fish and vegetables from the night before. Why do people crave sweet when one is at the paramount of happiness? The thought sometimes baffled him but he decided it was wiser to fill his stomach with substances then starve the whole day.

He took the first swift bite of the brown crust of the toast. A sudden flick of eyes grew open and Joshua took another dab at the toast. _It was delicious. _For a moment, Joshua had forgotten he was wearing a stranger's clothes, standing in an unfamiliar room, and eating a plate of food he had never tried. As though he had forgotten the realities of the world and found a safe haven. The room felt calm and excluded from the noise outside. Joshua took the last bite of the French toast and began to reach for the coffee.

"From the looks of it, you seem to be enjoying my food curly."

"Joshua."

"Gotcha curly."

Joshua rolled his violet eyes and gave up on making Hanekoma acknowledge his first name.

"Judging from your uniform I'm assuming you're a café barista? Joshua began to sip his coffee.

"You catch on quick. Do you the name of this place?" Hanekoma put his fingers on the tip of his chin.

Joshua looked around but it seemed as though the name of the store only existed outside. But he took a good look around the room before realizing exactly where he was.

"WildKat café."

"You got it! How'd you know, kiddo?"

"I have connections. Although I heard this place was closing down." A smile grew on the blonde's face.

"WHAT? Who told you that?!"

Joshua knew that his father was the corporate boss of housing management and he recalled that he once visited his father's office and read confidential documents that stated WildKat café will be going under demolition.

"A bird flew by and whispered it to me." Joshua smiled.

"Hey, I know this place doesn't have much people. But the food is great and I'm making end's meat, ya know? I would never close this place down."

"Yes. I can assure you that your food is quite good but the pricing is unaffordable to most students and adults."

"Hmm, is that so? Well, you have a point." The barista admitted.

"However, next to Wildkat café there were other popular café chains such as Starbucks, Afternoon Tea, and Soineya. I can understand the pressure of the competition Mr. H" Joshua waved his hand as a gesture.

"HAH- for a young lad, you know a lot. I can tell you're a bright kid." He pointed out.

"Now, can you answer some of my question?" Joshua asked.

"Eh, I can answer some but not all. But ask anyway."

"How exactly did my injuries heal in a rapid pace?"

"Sorry curly. I can't answer that."

Joshua grew impatient. There were so many questions that he felt was unanswered. Who was this man? Why did he help him? And how did his injuries healed so quickly? Fiddling with the blue pin, Joshua was clearly unsatisfied.

"Say Joshua, where did you find that Pin?"

Joshua stopped momentarily and noticed that the other finally called him by his first name.

But two can play at this game.

"Sorry Mr. H, I can't answer that question." He quirked his lips.

"Serves me right for asking." The barista chuckled.

"But really, I'm not allowed to share confidential information. It's top secret. Especially to the first ever RG player." He smiled sheepishly.

Joshua wished he knew what Sanae Hanekoma was talking about. He really does. But by the second, the ambiguity of the man grew deeper.

Joshua decided it was best to go home. It was early in the day for him to stall inside a stranger's café.

"Hm? You're leaving so soon? Why, I haven't shown you the main course of the meal."

"Perhaps, next time." Joshua replied.

"While you were unconscious, I took a good look at your phone. It was _broken_. It looked as if I couldn't have called the ambulance if I could. Things would have turned favorable in your situation either way."

"I suppose." Joshua began to carry his school bag and carefully laid his cleaned uniform inside the bag.

"So I took the liberty of confiscating your phone. Today is Saturday- is it? Stop by on Monday to pick it up. I'll have a surprise for ya."

"What do you intend to do?"

"That's a surprise. " He winked.

Joshua thought there was no harm to let the taller man have his way with his orange bulky phone. It was unusually bigger and thicker than the normal sized phones. Back then, cell phones were the new rages in technology. Not everyone was fortunate to obtain one.

The sun's warm light touched the surface of the boy's pale arms. The oversize-shirt felt oddly comfortable despite it revealingly showing the ridges of his collar bones. Joshua took a deep breath and felt a small breeze of the clean air. He noticed he was quite far from Cadoi city.

Joshua felt an obligation to say something kind. Besides, it was disrespectful to take advantage of an adult.

"Thank you for your hospitality Mr. H."

"Hmm? Don't mention it, curly! Just promise me you''ll stop by this Monday to pick up your phone."

"Know you're way back?"

Joshua nodded in response.

"Good! I'll be seeing you soon. Hopefully, in one piece next time."

Joshua smiled and gave a gesture of reassurance and left the café. The pavement of the street was cleaner than usual. The whole entire neighborhood was quiet and peaceful. Of course, there were usual spots where teenager blasted loud music while driving in their Chevrolet Corvette. But overall, it was a small yet homely neighborhood.

To occupy his mind, Joshua took out a rubix cube from his bag pack and began to solve it one by one. _Click Clack. _The sky showed grey smoke shrouds of clouds accumulating in between the gaps of the blue seemed to be an endless road abrupted short when the back entrance of Cadoi city can be seen from a few blocks away.

(To be continued…)


End file.
